Figure 1.-- The photograph here, taken in early 1900s, shows poor children showering at school. Many Italian schools at the time had a common shower like this, to provide the pupils at least a weekly bath. |
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Italian state schools after unification had an important social task in Italy. One report indicates that at the time of unification with the proclamation of the Italian Kingdom that 78 percent of the Italian people were illiterate (1861). This was a much higher proportion than Protestant northern Europe. This was not the only problem. Most Italian families were very poor, especially in the south, and nutrition and hygiene relatively poor. This of course significantly affected children. This Italian schools in the late-19th and early-20th century faced many problems. To address the hygine problem, many schools installed showers so the children could bathe. Thus bathing became a school activity in Italy. The photograph here, taken in early 1900s, shows poor children showering at school. Many school had a common shower like this, to provide the pupils at least a weekly bath. Manyb Italian families lived in homes without running water, let alone baths.
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